Every year in August, I go on a melon spree. Cantaloupe, Santa Claus melon, watermelon, and honeydew; I’ll take whatever’s ripe and fragrant at the market!

I’ve been especially loving the mini seedless watermelons the past few weeks. They’ve been extra sweet and juicy, and just begging to be sprinkled with a little sea salt and savored on a hot afternoon.

If there’s anything more refreshing than an ice cold wedge of watermelon, it’s a watermelon cocktail. Combined with light rum and fresh lime and orange juices, a Frozen Watermelon Daiquiri is the perfect way to cool down on a summer afternoon. It’s even better sipped poolside!

Frozen Daiquiris of Days Gone By

Like many, I was introduced to frozen daiquiris of the non-alcoholic kind as a kid. Made from a mix and blended with ice and punch or lemon-lime soda, virgin strawberry daiquiris were one of the most coveted treats a kid could get at a summer party. We felt so grown up!

They were also cloyingly sweet and heavy on the artificial flavor. Of course, I didn’t care; the sweeter the better at that age! I slurped them happily through colorful “crazy straws” until the cup was empty and I had experienced more than one brain freeze. The. Best.

Fresh Fruit Cocktails and the Frozen Watermelon Daiquiri

Remembering that intense sweetness, I tended to stay away from frozen daiquiris as an adult. Once I started making my own cocktail blends with freshly-frozen fruit, it was a whole new ballgame.

This recipe is made with juicy watermelon, cubed and frozen. It’s a great way to use up any extra watermelon you have in the fridge. Just cut it up, freeze it on a sheet pan, transfer to freezer bags when solid. It can hang out in your freezer for about 6 months for all of your watermelon daiquiri needs.

There’s no extra ice in this cocktail to water it down; just light rum, and a touch of fresh lime and orange juices. I add a little bit of simple syrup (1:1 water to sugar ratio) to the blender and and adjust to taste, depending on how sweet the watermelon is.

Blenders for Frozen Drinks

A lot of people ask me about my recommendations for the best blender for frozen drinks. You can make great frozen cocktails in a range models, but I am so partial to my high speed blender.

The daiquiris photographed here were made in my Vitamix, which I absolutely love and adore. (Not an ad! Just a longtime thrilled customer.) High speed blenders, like the Vitamix, handle the frozen fruit with pretty much zero effort and blend the drinks to a smooth, restaurant-quality texture.

If making this recipe in a regular blender, it’s best to cut the watermelon into smaller cubes before freezing to make them easier to process. To avoid taxing the blender’s motor, stop every so often to scrape the sides and redistribute remaining fruit chunks. Then, just keep blending until smooth.

Looking for more easy summer cocktails to make with fruit? Check out these party-ready favorites:

Ingredients

Instructions

Mix frozen watermelon cubes, rum, lime juice, orange juice, and simple syrup in a blender until smooth. (Stop to scrape the sides occasionally if not using a high speed blender.) Blend in additional simple syrup to taste. Serve immediately, garnished with a wedge of lime.

Recipe Notes

*To make simple syrup, combine equal parts water and granulated sugar in a saucepan. (1 cup water to 1 cup sugar). Heat, stirring, until sugar is dissolved and small bubbles begin to form around the side of the pan. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.

Non-Alcoholic Variation:

Omit rum and increase orange juice to 1/2 cup, adding a bit of water to the blender to thin the mixture, as needed.

Have you made this recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating the recipe below! Don’t forget to take a picture and tag @stripedspatula and #stripedspatula on Instagram for a chance to be featured in my newsletter!

Amanda, I can practically feel the icy glass in my hand and taste that fruity, lightly sweet chiller. This is seriously what August was MADE FOR. I love how you froze the watermelon instead of blending it with ice – genius. I freeze my bananas when they go brown, but for no other reason than I usually don’t have time to make a banana bread when they turn — and freezing them is a good way to preserve the fruit until I’m ready… LOL!

‘Use up extra watermelon..’ bahahaa.. I can’t stop laughing. Who has extra watermelon? :P I absolutely love this though- and I could definitely manage to buy a watermelon for freezing, and another for devouring lol. And this sounds so much better than those nasty sweet mixes!!

Gorgeous and delightfully grown up. We’re just hitting peak watermelon season here and my favourite market grows a bunch of their own varieties, so I try to go nuts on the crazy-good and delightfully sweet local stuff while I can. Like you, I try to get into as many varieties as I can right now (like the golden honeydew I just cut up), but when there are so many you need to get creative and start drinking your melon too :) As a fellow Vitamix fanatic, I think I might just have to start thinking daiquiri very soon (including some of the not-so-artificial virgin ones for the kids). Hooray for late summer! :D

Vitamix gets frozen fruit like no other! I was never a daiquiri fan as a kid but I know I would like these because it’s all about the watermelon, which I can’t get enough of. Now I need a pool, some sun glasses, and a couple glasses of these this weekend!